Scariest moment on a bike?

[NighthawkNZ:Me]

What's the most frightening situation you've ever been in while riding?

having to get off and put me baby to sleep for the night

[breakaway]

When I almost lost control on gravel on a street which I know well. My first time riding on gravel.

ALMOST lost it, somehow got it back.

[kro]

Mine would have been having the front wheel pop up, coming out of a corner when I got my first GSXR750. I was used to RG's and RD's, and was maybe riding the Gix a bit hard. I will admit to soiling my undies just a little that day.

[90s]

The times I was taken out by a golf GTi from behind and a self-inflected spill when doing 'laps' around a closed school road system (just had to keep pushing it around a little quicker each time ... ) were not scary at all. One minute situation normal, next "WTF?" Lots and lots or cagers nearly taking me out but they make me angry.

The scariest time, like so many of these stories, was a near miss. Two lanes of crawling London traffic (Commercial Rd) and I'm doing the usual down the centre lane, along with a long stream of bikes. Suddenly one idiot things he'll pull a superfast no-indicator u-turn out of the traffic with me about 3m away.
The whole thing seemed so slow that the terror went on for ages as I locked the front wheel. The rear came up so far (light bike) so I was almost standing on its nose, then started to swing around the locked front. The bike swung around and came down leaving me in a perfect 180 facing back the way I had come with the rear wheel about 5" from the car. My feet were still on the pegs throughout.
I was only doing about 50k so it wouldn't have been the world's worst smash but it was scarier than higher speed incidents for some reason.
And I often think of my perfect 'control' of the bike, and what a pity it is that I couldn't repeat that if I tried in a million years.

Now I think I will start a "most embarrassing" thread as I did something really, really stoopid recently ...

[Delphinus]

The scariest time, like so many of these stories, was a near miss. Two lanes of crawling London traffic (Commercial Rd) and I'm doing the usual down the centre lane, along with a long stream of bikes. Suddenly one idiot things he'll pull a superfast no-indicator u-turn out of the traffic with me about 3m away.
The whole thing seemed so slow that the terror went on for ages as I locked the front wheel. The rear came up so far (light bike) so I was almost standing on its nose, then started to swing around the locked front. The bike swung around and came down leaving me in a perfect 180 facing back the way I had come with the rear wheel about 5" from the car. My feet were still on the pegs throughout.
I was only doing about 50k so it wouldn't have been the world's worst smash but it was scarier than higher speed incidents for some reason.
And I often think of my perfect 'control' of the bike, and what a pity it is that I couldn't repeat that if I tried in a million years.

Damn! Thats something to tell the grandkids

[Daffyd]

Having a rear tyre blow out at 90kms through a series of 75km/h bends on a fully laden bike on the way to the March Hare.
Seemed to take forever to stop.

[tri boy]

Traveling between Taumaranui and Te Kuiti on a slightly illegal herbal supply run.(I've changed....truly ) Anyway, i ride out of a corner, only to find two cop cars either side of the road. Instantly, both put their lights on, and the one on my side of the gets out and waves me to a stop.
Shit! All kinds of thoughts along the lines of minor trafficking bust scenario's are racing through my head. Time in the Big House, Man love in the showers etc...
Turns out they're waiting on a house moving truck inching down a drive onto the highway, and i was the first motorist to turn up. They were on traffic control!
Say no to drugs.

[Timber020]

Two moments spring to mind

Having the brake lever pull all the way into the handlebar at the end of the main straight at manfield when I had already left by god count late(resulting in the predictable painful and expensive outcome)

Took a mr turbo fireblade for a ride in the US. apparently it was about 230hp. Got on highway and reached rediculous rate of knots. No words for it. Makes my heart beat a little faster every time I think about it. Scary fast.

[scumdog]

When CB almost caught me trying to root her sister on the seat on the iron-head Sporty.....

[Steen]

Heading home 8pm along riverhead rd ize lifting the bike out of a corner into a straight noticed an on coming car 500m away… possibly the bike headlight rising from lean to upright confused the driver who panicked & just wrenched the wheel sending the car spinning towards me like riding thru chopper blades … just as the car straightend I slipped right past the drivers side caught a glimpse of the drivers wide eyed face in my headlight & the car continued to spin stopping abreast the road …I snapped on my hazards & walking over the the car the driver stuck it in gear & drove straight off the rd into a ditch …so I had to walk a bit further to let the driver know she very nearly killed me …..turns out a learner never driven at night before & couldn’t see where the road went…..it went straight
I was just lucky… it happened so quick almost no time to respond all I could do was get a couple of feet towards the edge of the road before the car swerved past me….

[peasea]

[QUOTE=Solarwind;28412]What's the most frightening situation you've ever been in while riding? QUOTE]

Gooks, they scare me every day and I give them a wide berth indeed. Without a doubt, they have caused more scary moments for me than trucks, ice, rain, dead animals, live animals, de-railed trains or plummeting helicopters.

They simply cannot drive.

[Korea]

Was a wee while back, when I was a young man... and asking for trouble...

There’s a little sideroad on the way home which, if the traffic in front of you is pootling along at 40kmph, you can take and arrive ahead of said slow traffic.
I dove off on my spanky RGV250 and made the detour. At the point where the sideroad re-joins the main road at a T-junction you’re supposed to stop, look both ways and rejoin the flow. Of course being a tit I kept the throttle open too long and left the braking too late.
Got to the intersection, slammed on the anchors, front loaded up, back got light, tyre started sliding but I was still travelling forward at about a million miles an hour.
Seeing as I’m missing the corner, I stupidly try to turn while sliding. Now the back has stepped right out, I’m crossed up and the rear is bouncing trying to highside me. Swerving and bouncing into the oncoming lane, I go straight through, over the curb, and into the hedge on the other side of the T-junction still upright!.
The bike has come to a stop and the traffic I tried to short-cut have now driven past with quizzical looks “Tosser” I check for mud and tentatively follow.
In retrospect, I admit I was a complete plonker, learnt a valuable lesson and I haven’t done anything as dumb since. (and if you believe that, you’ll believe anything).

[skidMark]

hmmm scariest moment well heck there have been so many,..

the one that takes the cake though is coming into a corner down in kaiaua with another rider following we had been flying thru the twisties and i looked back to see where they were...which happened to be right behind me as i'm watching them they drop back braking, i turn around and look ahead to see what is about a 35kph corner i'm 10 metres from it...doing 120.....

oh crap hollllyyy ....stiffened up like a n00b...went straight ahead...crossi,ng the other lane was scary just hoped there was no car co,ming the other way,

luckily there wasn't ....heading towards trees a post and wire fence oooooohhh ...and then a massive dropoff like 100 metres down into a big stack of wood in farmer browns field holy crap...i'm proper fucked....... ooo look a 2 metre wide patch of gravel running alongside the road....well i might as well try save it.... so i headed at the gravel on a big angle trying to make it longer....then stayed as hard as i could on the brakes as i hit it to lay the bike down...would rather screw a fairing than hit a fence.... leant her to the right a touch...hit the gravel..bang went down at 40kph or so....graunchhh chhhhh (worst noise ever) **shudder** stop...hey....i'm in one piece.,..whats that on the ground that shiny thing...my front brake lever....o dear.....

was an interesting 100km's home with no front brakes and most of my fairing being kept under the seats of 3 different bikes along with indicators levers etc.

good times lol

damn i made a hash of that.

[Seraph]

For me it would have to be riding around town on a rather wet day when someone pulled out of a driveway and staight across my lane about 10 metres ahead. I was on a bike I'd only recently purchased and pulled the front brake and there was just no bite, locked up the back and stopped about a metre from the passenger door.
The dumb bitch didn't even notice and just kept on driving...had to stop for about 10 mins after to stop shaking
similar thing happened again 2 days later, this time slammed straight into the the front right mudguard, didn't even have a chance to thing about brakes.(still recovering from that 1 2 months later..got back on a bike again yesterday!)
I guess fear comes from the fact that you know what would have happened if things had been slighly different....owel lesson learned, have good brakes and dont hesitate.

[skidMark]

yeah i did that once on a minibike somebody was indicating right, turned hard lock left into thier driveway....at which point i was coming up on the left...hit the mudguard...weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

rooly rooly rolly rolly stop....ahhh fuck why does my elbow hurt....yes bloodey big break...i have i figure 8 of wire in my elbow ...and can never fully straighten my arm again,, ugh!!!!!!!

got sum big street cred (scar) though